Windscreen wiper device, in particular for a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a windshield wiper device ( 10 ), in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising a support ( 12 ), on which a bearing ( 18 ) is arranged, which supports a wiper shaft ( 22 ). In this case, a retaining element ( 20 ) is provided, which detachably connects the bearing ( 18 ) to the support.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a windshield wiper device, in particular for amotor vehicle.

Numerous windshield wiper devices having a wiper shaft that ispositioned in a bearing that is fastened on a support are already known,for example from DE-A 199 03 140. The wiper shafts are connected withwiper arms bearing the wiper blades and therefore project from the bodyof the motor vehicle. In the case of a pedestrian impact with the bodyof the motor vehicle, the pedestrian can be injured by these projectingwiper shafts. As a result, several methods have been developed toprotect the pedestrian. Normally, the fastening of the windshield wiperdevice is provided with predetermined breaking points so that, in thecase of an impact on the wiper shafts, the windshield wiper device canbe torn from its fastening and descend into the interior of the body.

In this case, it is problematic first of all that adequate constructionspace has to be available to accommodate the windshield wiper deviceand, secondly, the entire windshield wiper device has to be replacedafter a crash.

In addition, raising the engine hood in a crash is known so that contactwith the wiper arms and wiper shafts is avoided. However, this is verycostly and not practical for smaller vehicles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The windshield wiper device in accordance with the invention has theadvantage that a retaining element is provided, which detachablyconnects the bearing to the support so that, in the case of an increasedeffect of force on the wiper shaft, only the bearing is separated fromthe support and must disappear within the vehicle body. In this case,the windshield wiper device itself always remains in its originalposition, wherein firstly, construction space is saved and secondly, thewindshield wiper device will not be destroyed in a crash.

It is especially advantageous if the support has a receptacle toaccommodate the bearing. The receptacle guarantees a secure hold of thebearing on the support.

If the bearing includes a tube, it is advantageously easy to fasten iton the support and reliably support the wiper shaft.

In a particularly simple and therefore advantageous embodiment, theretaining element is embodied as a clip, which connects the bearing tothe support. This type of clip can be replaced easily and can also beembodied so that it is reusable.

In this case, it is especially advantageous if the clip grips around thebearing at least partially in a radial fashion in order to achieve anespecially good hold on the bearing.

If the support has an at least partially flattened area and if thebearing includes a plate that is fastened on the flattened area of thesupport, an especially stable and secure mounting of the bearing on thesupport is produced.

In this case, it is of particular advantage if the plate on the supportis fastened via predetermined breaking elements.

Moreover, it should be viewed as advantageous if the bearing isaccommodated in a guide of the support and the retaining element isembodied as a speed nut. In this way, speed nuts, which are available inlarge unit numbers as cost-effective series production parts, can beused as retaining elements.

If the guide has an inclined plane, the required force component, whichleads to the speed nut being detached, can be adjusted precisely in itsdirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Different exemplary embodiments of the invention are depicted in thedrawings and explained in greater detail in the following description.The drawings show:

FIG. 1 A perspective representation of a windshield wiper device inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 A portion of a support with a bearing of a windshield wiperdevice in accordance with the invention in detail;

FIG. 3 A perspective representation of the portion of the support fromFIG. 2 with a detached bearing;

FIG. 4 A top view of a portion of a support with a bearing in onevariation;

FIG. 5 A side view of the bearing and the support from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 Another variation of the support with the bearing from FIGS. 4and 5;

FIG. 7 Another variation of the fastening of the bearing on the support;

FIG. 7 a A third variation of the fastening of the bearing on thesupport;

FIG. 8 A further variation of the bearing from FIG. 7 in a positioninstalled in a vehicle;

FIG. 9 Another variation of the bearing from FIG. 7 a;

FIG. 10 A perspective representation of another variation of thefastening of the bearing on the support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective representation of a windshield wiper device10 in accordance with the invention. It is comprised essentially of asupport 12 made of a tube 14, and a bearing holder 16 is attached oneach of its two ends. The bearing holders 16 of the support 12 eachaccommodate a bearing 18, which is fixed radially and axially by meansof retaining elements 20 on the bearing holders 16 of the support 12.The bearing 18 support the wiper shafts 22, on which the wiper arms (notshown here) having wiper blades are fastened.

In addition, an electric motor 24 is attached as a drive device to thetube 14 of the support 12, and said electric motor is able to set thewiper shafts 22 into a pendulum motion via a crank mechanism. Thewindshield wiper device 10 is fastened to the body of the motor vehiclevia the bearing holder 16 of the support 12. The drive device 24 drivesa first crank 26, which is able to set the two thrust rods 28 into aback and forth motion. The ends of the thrust rods 28 facing away fromthe drive device 24 are connected in a movable manner to two cranks 30,which are in turn connected in a rotationally secured manner to thewiper shafts 22.

In one variation of the invention, naturally a mechanism other than acrank mechanism can also be provided or even only one wiper shaft can bedriven by an electric motor, as is the case with modern two-motor wiperunits.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective representation of a bearing holder 16 of thesupport 12 of a windshield wiper device 10 in accordance with theinvention. The bearing holder 16 essentially includes a fasteningsection 32, on which a receptacle 34 to accommodate the bearing 18 isattached, as well as an assembly section 36, which is used to fasten thesupport 12 to the body of the motor vehicle. The fastening section 32has an essentially cylindrical form and is inserted and crimped in thetube 14 of the support 12. The receptacle 34 is essentially a longishelement embodied in a C-shape in cross section, whose longitudinalextension extends approximately perpendicular to the longitudinalextension of the cylindrical fastening section 32. The bearing 18 thatis essentially comprised of a tubular bushing is inserted into theinterior of the C-shaped receptacle 34. The bearing 18 is fixed in thereceptacle 34 by two bow-like clip elements as retaining elements 20.The retaining elements grip partially around the receptacle 34 so thatthey are detachable by a force impact due to a crash with a pedestrian.The assembly section 36 having an eye 38 extends in an essentiallyplate-like manner in approximately the center of the longitudinalextension of the receptacle 34. A screw with a rubber bushing can beextended through said eye for fastening to the motor vehicle.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded representation of the bearing holder 16, thebearing 18 and the retaining elements 20. The function of a windshieldwiper device 10 in accordance with the invention is supposed to beexplained in the following. If a force F (FIG. 2) acts on the wipershaft 22 (FIG. 1), which is supported in the bearing 18, the retainingelements 20 that hold the bearing 18 in the receptacle 34 detach fromthe receptacle 34, whereby the wiper shaft 22, which is supported in thebearing 18, can tilt away in the direction of the arrow and can descenddownward into the construction space of the windshield wiper device 10in the motor vehicle. In this way, the risk of injury to a pedestrianmaking impact with the wiper shaft 22 is substantially reduced withoutthe entire windshield wiper device 10 being destroyed by predeterminedbreaking points in an impact.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a variation of a windshieldwiper device 10 in accordance with the invention. In this case, thebearing 18 includes a cylindrical bearing bush 40, which is welded to aplate 42. Alternatively, the bearing bush 40 and the plate 42 cannaturally also be cast as a single piece, e.g., in a plastic injectionmolding process, or be manufactured in another manner. The tube 14 ofthe support 12 squeezed together on one end so that a flatten area 44 iscreated, which forms a second plate, on which the plate 42 of thebearing 18 is placed. Provided as retaining elements 20 that fix theplate 42 on the second plate 44 are in turn two bow-shaped clips made ofmetal, in particular spring steel, which grip around the plate 42 andthe second plate 44 at least partially.

For fastening on the motor vehicle, the second plate 44 is extendedbeyond the area of the bearing 18 so that it can be inserted into apocket-like mounting 46. This mounting 46 is cast as a single piece ofplastic and is secured in a hole in the body of the motor vehicle bylocking noses 48.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the bearing 18 with the end of the tube 14of the support 12 from FIG. 4. The wiper shaft 22 is inserted in thebearing bush 40 of the bearing 18. The bearing bush 40 is firmlyconnected to the plate 42, which is placed on the second plate 44 thatis created by the tube 14 being squeezed together and connected to thespring-like clip elements as retaining elements 20. The end of the tube14 sticks into the pocket-like mounting 46, which has locking noses 48for fastening to the body of the motor vehicle.

FIG. 6 depicts a variation of the support 12 from FIGS. 4 and 5. Insteadof the pocket-like mounting 46, the second plate 44 is extended furtherbeyond the area of the plate 42 of the bearing 18. This outer area ofthe free end of the tube 14 has an eye 50, in which a damping element 52with a bushing 54 is inserted. A screw for fastening to the body of themotor vehicle can be extended through this eye 50.

FIG. 7 depicts another variation of the bearing 18 from FIG. 6. LikeFIG. 6, the plate 42 has side walls 56 for better guidance and theseside walls extend in the direction of the second plate 44 and partiallyframe it. The stability of the connection is further improved becausethe side walls 56 nestle in this way around the edge of the second plate44. In order to further improve the fixation of the bearing 18 on thesupport 12, guide pins 58, 58 a also project out of the plate 42, andsaid guide pins engage in corresponding openings in the second plate 44.These guide pins 58, 58 a have an essentially cylindrical form andextend from the side of the plate 42 facing away from the bearing bush40 through the second plate 44. As an alternative, as guide pin 58 ashows, a metal pin can also be inserted into the plate 42, which isfastened to the guide bush 40 and passes through plate 42 and the secondplate 44. Fixing the plate 42 to the tube 14 is achieved via a strongbow spring as a retaining element 20, which extends between the two sidewalls 56 of plate 42 in a bridge-like manner beyond the second plate 44.For this, an elevated portion 60 can be arranged on the side of theplate 44 facing away from the bearing bush 40 in order to raise andadjust the spring tension of the bow spring 20, but the bow spring 20can also have a corresponding concave curvature. The bow spring 20engages in notches 43 on the side walls 56 for stabilization purposes.

If a force now acts, e.g., through the impact of a pedestrian on thewiper shaft 22, the bow spring 20 will slide off the side walls out ofthe notches 43 and the plate 42 will detach from the second plate 44. Asa result, the wiper shaft 22 supported in the bearing bush 40 can recedeinto the interior of the motor vehicle. Within the motor vehicle it isexpedient if the bearing bush 40 is arranged behind the tube 14 or thesecond plate 44 since the force from an impacting pedestrian normallyacts on the wiper shaft 22 from the front and therefore laterally.

FIG. 7 a depicts a variation of FIG. 7. The retaining element 20 in thiscase is embodied as a screw, which passes through the second plate 44 aswell as the first plate 42 and is held in the bearing bush 40 over asmall area. In addition, the screw 20 is positioned within the plate 42and the second plate 44 via a separate screw bush 62. In the case of theimpact of a pedestrian, a radial force acts on the wiper shaft, wherebythe screw as retaining element 20 is torn out of the bearing bush. Inthis respect, the plate in this case is connected to the screw asretaining element 20 by a predetermined breaking point. Alternatively,the retaining element 20 itself can naturally also be provided with apredetermined breaking point and break off correspondingly in the caseof an impact.

FIG. 8 depicts a variation of the bearing 18 of a windshield wiperdevice in accordance with the invention from FIG. 7. The plate 42 isthis case is not arranged parallel, but perpendicular to the bearingaxis of the wiper shaft 22 or to the bearing bush 40. The retainingelement 20 is embodied as a bow spring, which is guided between theplate 42 and the second plate 44 of the tube 14. In this connection,bending protuberances 45, which were formed on the edge of the secondplate 44 when squeezing the tube 14 together, serve as a hook for theretaining element 20. As a supplement or an alternative, the plate 42 inthis case can naturally also have one or more notches 43.

FIG. 9 shows a variation of the bearing 18 from FIG. 7 a. The plate 42is placed on second plate 44 of the tube 14 and fixed by two screws asretaining agents 20. The screws 20 also fix a fastening bow 64, whichbears a bushing 54 for fastening to the motor vehicle. If acorresponding radial force F acts on the wiper shaft 22, the screws 20are torn out of the bearing bush, wherein the bearing bush 40 with thewiper shaft 22 can descend into the interior of the body of the vehicle.

FIG. 10 depicts another variation of a bearing holder 16 of a windshieldwiper device 10 in accordance with the invention. The bearing holder 16in this case is manufactured as a single piece of plastic in aninjection molding process or in an aluminum or zinc die-casting process.The receptacle 34 has an essentially U-shaped form in cross section andfeatures two openings 66 on its base in the form of elongated holes. Thebearing 18, which supports the wiper shaft 22, has an essentiallyrectangular parallelepiped form in cross section so that it can beaccommodated with positive engagement in the receptacle 34. In addition,the bearing 18 has an inclined step 68, which cooperates with a step 68arranged in the interior of the U-shaped receptacle 34 in such a waythat an inclined plane is created on which the bearing 18 is able toslide as a guide in the interior of the U-shaped receptacle 34. If aforce F acts on the wiper shaft 22 in the axial direction, then thebearing 18 slides out of the receptacle 34 on the inclined plane of thestep 68. The bearing 18 has bolts 70 on its side facing the base of thereceptacle 34, and said bolts project through the openings 66 of thebase of the receptacle 34 in an assembled position. The bolts 70 arefixed there by means of speed nuts as retaining elements 20. If a forceF now acts on the wiper shaft 22, the bearing 18 slides out of theU-shaped receptacle on the step 68, whereby the force must be overcome[in order to] slip the speed nuts over the bolts 70. The impactkinematics can be adjusted by appropriately selecting the speed nuts,the bolts and the angle of the step 68.

As an alternative, predetermined breaking elements can naturally also beused as retaining elements 20 instead of the speed nuts, e.g., pinsprojecting transversely through the bolts 70, screws or screw nuts. Alsopossible is an automatically engaging locking element, which breaks offfor example when a maximum force is exceeded, thereby releasing thebolts 70. The bearing 18 is then inserted into the receptacle 34 duringassembly and locks itself.

The invention claimed is:
 1. Windshield wiper device (10), for a motorvehicle, comprising a support (12), on which at least one bearing (18)is arranged, which supports at least one wiper shaft (22), the bearing(18) and the wiper shaft (22) extending along an axis about which thewiper shaft is adapted to rotate within the bearing, characterized inthat at least one retaining clip (20) detachably connects the bearing(18) to the support such that the bearing separates from the support inthe event of an increased force on the wiper shaft due to impact with apedestrian, the clip gripping around a portion of the support and aportion of the bearing to detachably connect the bearing to the support,the clip extending at least partially about the axis.
 2. Windshieldwiper device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that thesupport (12) has a receptacle (34) to accommodate the bearing (18). 3.Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in thatthe bearing (18) includes at least one tube.
 4. Windshield wiper device(10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the clip (20) gripsaround the bearing (18) at least partially in a radial fashion. 5.Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in thatthe receptacle (34) is C-shaped in cross section and has an interior,and in that the bearing (18) is inserted into the interior of theC-shaped receptacle.
 6. Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim5, characterized in that the clip grips partially around the receptaclesuch that the clip is detachable in the event of an impact with apedestrian.
 7. Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 5,characterized in that the bearing is fixed in the receptacle by the atleast one retaining clip and by a second retaining clip, the clipsgripping partially around the receptacle such that the clips aredetachable in the event of an impact with a pedestrian.
 8. Windshieldwiper device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that thebearing (18) includes at least one tube.
 9. Windshield wiper device (10)according to claim 1, characterized in that the clip (20) grips aroundthe bearing (18) at least partially in a radial fashion.
 10. Windshieldwiper device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that thesupport (12) includes a bearing holder (16) having a side wall defininga receptacle (34) receiving the bearing and a radial opening, and inthat the at least one retaining clip (20) extends across the radialopening to detachably retain the bearing in the receptacle. 11.Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe bearing is connected to the support by the at least one retainingclip and by a second retaining clip.
 12. Windshield wiper device (10),for a motor vehicle, comprising a support (12), on which at least onebearing (18) is arranged, which supports at least one wiper shaft (22),characterized in that at least one retaining clip (20) detachablyconnects the bearing (18) to the support such that the bearing separatesfrom the support in the event of an increased force on the wiper shaftdue to impact with a pedestrian, characterized in that the support (12)has a receptacle (34) to accommodate the bearing (18), wherein thereceptacle (34) is C-shaped in cross section and has an interior,wherein the bearing (18) is inserted into the interior of the C-shapedreceptacle, and wherein the bearing is fixed in the receptacle by the atleast one retaining clip and by a second retaining clip, the clipsgripping partially around the receptacle such that the clips aredetachable in the event of an impact with a pedestrian.
 13. Windshieldwiper device (10), for a motor vehicle, comprising a support (12), onwhich at least one bearing (18) is arranged, which supports at least onewiper shaft (22), characterized in that at least one retaining clip (20)detachably connects the bearing (18) to the support such that thebearing separates from the support in the event of an increased force onthe wiper shaft due to impact with a pedestrian, in that the bearing(18) and the wiper shaft (22) extend along an axis, in that the support(12) includes a bearing holder (16) having a side wall defining areceptacle (34) receiving the bearing and a radial opening, and in thatthe clip extends across the radial opening to detachably retain thebearing in the receptacle.
 14. Windshield wiper device (10) according toclaim 13, characterized in that the at least one retaining clip (20)includes two retaining clips (20), each clip extending across the radialopening.
 15. Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 13,characterized in that the bearing (18) includes at least one tube. 16.Windshield wiper device (10) according to claim 13, characterized inthat the receptacle (34) is C-shaped in cross section and has aninterior, and in that the bearing (18) is inserted into the interior ofthe C-shaped receptacle.
 17. Windshield wiper device (10) according toclaim 16, characterized in that the bearing is fixed in the receptacleby the at least one retaining clip and by a second retaining clip, theclips gripping partially around the receptacle such that the clips aredetachable in the event of an impact with a pedestrian.